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Every now and then, someone expresses the desire so share his or her family history with others.

So. it was with Cheryl Croft Bennett of Oregon City, Oregon.

She contacted the Pioneer Museum of Alabama to inquire if there would be any interest in a quilt that had been in her family for more than 100 years.

Her grandparents, Ethel Peacock and Willis Snowden Kirkland were born in the Headland/Abbevillle area in 1887 and 1894. After they married in 1909, they moved to Dover, Florida where their family grew to 11 children. The family farmed there for 60 years.

“My grandmother had six sisters but, as far as I know, the quilt was grandma’s and was given to my mother who brought it to Oregon in 1945 after marrying my father whom she met in St. Petersburg, Florida during World War II,” Bennett said. “Except for the edging, it appears that the quilt was stitched by hand.”

Bennett’s belief is that the quilt was her great-grandma Hattie’s and some of her daughters, including her grandma, made the quilt.

“The texture, star design and the darker colors of the fabrics used reflect what was popular post-Civil War, Bennett said, adding that she wanted the quilt to be returned to its place of origin,

“I think my grandma would like that, too,” she said. “Our family stories are so very important and we need to do what we can to pass them down.”